2012-13 Accountability Report

Letter from Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

The past year was one of historic significance for the Catholic Church as we welcomed our new Holy Father, Pope Francis, following the courageous and humble decision by Pope Benedict XVI to resign. Pope Francis is calling upon the Church to begin a new chapter of evangelization, while pointing out the path the Church should walk in the years to come.

The Archdiocese of Indianapolis shares the mission of the whole Church as we discover where God is opening new doors for us in central and southern Indiana. Good stewards are not passive beneficiaries of God’s gifts. God invites each of us to continue the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. We carry out this mission by proclaiming the Gospel, celebrating the sacraments and exercising the ministry of charity.

This report, which gives an accounting of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis’ finances for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2013, is one measure of how we are using our resources to answer God’s call to be disciples who joyfully proclaim the love of God in Jesus Christ. As Pope Francis has said many times during the first year of his papacy, “Faith is an encounter with Jesus, and we must do what Jesus does: encounter others.”

This encounter requires that we listen to one another and step outside of ourselves to find where God is leading us. In an address on the Vigil of Pentecost on May 18, 2013 in St. Peter’s Square to an estimated 200,000 people representing the different ecclesial movements, Pope Francis observed, “How often is Jesus inside and knocking at the door to be let out, to come out? And we do not let him out because of our own need for security, because so often we are locked into ephemeral structures that serve solely to make us slaves and not free children of God.”

We have to be careful when we are planning in the archdiocese not to close doors by the way we plan. We need to be led by the sense of where God is actively opening doors and put the initiative and energy there in the trust that that action will generate the resources we need. I believe that as we progress in identifying the mission of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, we will be successful in assembling the resources necessary to sustain that mission.

Since my installation, I have posed a question throughout the Catholic community in central and southern Indiana: Where is God opening a door for the archdiocese? I have asked that question in every deanery as well as in meetings with priests, young people, religious, the senior managers of the archdiocese, etc.

Six such “doors” appear to be opening and beckon the archdiocese to respond:

1. Campus and young adult ministry: The Archdiocese of Indianapolis appears to be responding well to children and youth in our schools and religious education programs. We need to intensify our evangelization of young people on the college campuses as well as those who enter the work force immediately after high school.
2. Ministry to married couples and families: The vocation of marriage experiences tremendous strain and couples may feel isolated in their struggle to live fully the sacrament they have received. How can the archdiocese support those who are preparing to marry as well as those who struggle to grow in married love? What sort of ministry can we offer to marriages in crisis or to those who have passed through the painful trauma of divorce? Can the ministry of the archdiocesan tribunal be financed in a way that removes the misconception that only if one has money will one receive consideration in the annulment process?
3. Ministry to migrants: How can the archdiocese pastor the thousands of new immigrants to our territory? Many of these are Catholics but their faith is threatened by the secular character of American culture as well as the aggressive proselytism of other Christian churches and sects.
4. Prison ministry: How can the archdiocese offer meaningful pastoral care to the thousands of inmates who are incarcerated within our territory and advocate for policies that effectively promote their rehabilitation and reinsertion into society?
5. Debt relief: The archdiocese is blessed with a number of parishes which must expand their facilities in order to serve their growing communities. There are also poorer, urban parishes that stagger under the weight of maintaining their buildings and meeting their obligations to the archdiocese. Can the archdiocese be effective in relieving the debts of these parishes?
6. Global Catholicism: Does the Archdiocese of Indianapolis have the responsibility of thinking beyond the borders of this country and enter into effective solidarity with the younger Churches of Africa, Asia and Latin America?

The above “doors” are neither definitive nor exhaustive and with your help I will work to continue to refine them, but they do appear to be elements of the mission of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. I ask for your prayers and support in providing the Church in central and southern Indiana with the resources it needs to carry out its mission and, in the process, we all will be able as faithful Catholics to live more fully the vocation we received in baptism.

Our planning in the archdiocese also includes the continuation of the Connected in the Spirit planning process, which began in 2010. After Easter I intend to announce the final decisions concerning the parishes in the four Indianapolis deaneries.

Pastoral and lay representatives from the parishes have dedicated a tremendous amount of work to studying parish strengths, weaknesses and resources so we can align the parishes to most effectively carry out the mission God has given us. All parishes will be asked to share resources and programs, some will share pastors and a few parishes will be merged.

The Terre Haute and Batesville deaneries have completed Connected in the Spirit. Eventually, all of the parishes of the archdiocese will take part in Connected in the Spirit.

I hope you will take some time to study this report. In the following three pages you will find detailed information about our annual stewardship appeal and other stewardship efforts. You also will find a financial statement and charts that highlight the archdiocese’s financial position.

I am honored to serve as your Archbishop. We have much to be thankful for in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Let us look with hope and confidence to the future, trusting that Lord will always guide us.

Thank you for your support and God bless you!

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R.
Archbishop of Indianapolis